Legspinner says he “wanted to be home a bit more and spend more time with the family” in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2022New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi will be representing Canterbury in the upcoming 2022-2023 domestic season after ten seasons with Northern Districts.Residing in Christchurch with his family for the past five years, Canterbury Cricket in a statement said that he has “decided to fully entrench himself in the tapestry of the city by pulling on the red and black this summer.””It was a really tough decision, being from one association for all my life, I leave with a heavy heart,” Sodhi said. “But to be in a position where I can be bold enough to make that decision speaks a lot of my development at ND.”Family has played the biggest part [in the move south]. Being down here for the past few years and my daughter is just about to turn two years old so I just wanted to be home a bit more and spend more time with the family.””I just want to come in and contribute as much as I can to the environment.”Sodhi, 29, is expected to join the team during the winter pre-season training in the newly constructed Sir Richard Hadlee Sports Centre.Peter Fulton, Canterbury’s head coach, said that a “new challenge” will help Sodhi work towards his goal of a comeback into the Test side.”Clearly, we are delighted to secure the services of Ish for the 2022-23 season,” Fulton said. “He lives in Christchurch and has a young family, so I am really pleased he has now decided to play his cricket for Canterbury.”I am really looking forward to working with Ish and can’t wait to see him on the field at Hagley Oval wearing red and black.”I know Ish harbours ambitions to play Test cricket again so hopefully a new challenge will be exactly what he needs to achieve that goal.”In the previous Plunket Shield season, Sodhi played three games and picked up nine wickets at an average of 17.44. In the recently-concluded season, Canterbury finished second on the points table, with Auckland winning the championship. Canterbury have won the domestic titles four times in the past.

Tense two-wicket victory sealed in anticlimactic fashion at Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2022Lancashire’s batters held their nerve to secure a tense two-wicket defeat of Northants Steelbacks off the final ball of their Vitality Blast match at Emirates Old Trafford. Needing six to win off the final over, the home side’s chances appeared to have gone when Jimmy Neeshamdismissed both Danny Lamb and Tim David but with three needed off one ball, the New Zealander bowled a wide and then a no-ball to give Lancashire the spoils.However, Tim David’s 26-ball 42, which included a trio of sixes, had been just as vital in enabling Lancashire to remain unbeaten in this year’s Blast and preserve their home 100% record against Northants, whose total of 153 for six had always looked competitive on a used, tacky pitch.All the same, Northants’ innings began badly when Richard Gleeson’s superb yorker uprooted Lewis McManus’s off stump in the third over, but Josh Cobb hit Tom Hartley’s first two balls for leg-side sixes and the visitors eventually notched a respectable 53 runs off their Powerplay, 18 of those runs coming off Hartley’s first set of six.The visitors’ attempts to accelerate were then frustrated by the loss of two wickets in successive overs. First Josh Cobb was caught at long on by David off Liam LIvingstone for 21; then Ben Curran was bowled for 37 when attempting to reverse sweep a leg-spinner from Luke Wells, who probably owed his selection for this game to Matt Parkinson’s late call-up to England’s Test side.Northants reached the halfway point of their innings on 81 for three but Rob Keogh and Saif Zaib were finding it difficult to increase the scoring rate on a sticky pitch against an accurate attack.Just 25 runs had been scored off the previous 23 balls when Keogh was run out for 18 by Wells’ direct hit from mid-on and any hopes that Neesham might improve matters were dashed when the New Zealander was bowled by David for three, thus giving Lancashire’s overseas signing his first wicket for the county.Tom Taylor was bowled attempting a deeply ambitious reverse sweep off Luke Wood and it needed Zaib’s leg-side six off Gleeson in the nineteenth over to ensure his side got to 140. A front foot no-ball in the final over also boosted the total and Zaib reached his fifty off 36 balls.The Northants batsman finished unbeaten on 57 and his side’s total looked competitive in the conditions. Wood took one for 27 but the pick of Lancashire’s miserly attack was Livingstone, whose four overs cost 21 runs.Lancashire’s attempt to overhaul 153 began poorly when Keaton Jennings was bowled by Taylor for two and the same bowler had Steven Croft caught at point by Zaib for 10 after the Lancashire veteran had added 29 in 17 balls with Phil Salt.The home side ended their Powerplay on 47 for two, six runs and one wicket worse than Northants had been. Lancashire’s attempts to increase the scoring rate were then hampered by the loss of two wickets to the spinners, first when Livingstone’s top-edged sweep was caught by Taylor to give debutant leggie Alex Russell his first senior wicket and then when Salt was leg before to Graeme White for 37.Three huge sixes by David enlivened home supporters and left Lancashire needing 48 off the final six overs, only for Dane Vilas to be caught on the boundary by White off Neesham for 32. Vilas’s team still needed 33 off four overs and then 23 off three but Luke Wells holed out at deep midwicket off Neesham and 18 were required off the final twelve balls, thus setting up the tense climax to a fine game.Neesham finished with four for 26 but it will be no consolation.

Lancashire spare Derbyshire’s blushes over potential Michael Bublé clash

Matt Roller04-Jul-2022Warwickshire will squeeze a home quarter-final into Edgbaston’s packed schedule after talks with the ECB and have slashed ticket prices for Thursday’s fixture against Hampshire.Edgbaston is hosting the ongoing, rescheduled fifth Test between England and India, which is due to finish on Tuesday, and will then stage the second T20I between the same teams on Saturday. It will then host a County Championship game later this month, the women’s T20 competition at the Commonwealth Games, four Hundred matchdays (including three double-headers) and four Royal London Cup games before the end of August, putting huge demands on its groundstaff and testing the appetite for cricket in the Midlands.The original schedule for the Blast’s quarter-finals involved two games on Friday to avoid a clash in television slots with England’s T20Is, but after talks with the ECB, Warwickshire have moved the game to Thursday night. The game will be streamed live online but not televised, with Sky Sports showing the first T20I instead.Adult tickets are available for £10 in advance, with juniors either free or £1. “We’ve been working with ECB over the last few weeks to try and accommodate a home quarter-final at Edgbaston, despite the LV= Insurance Test Match and Vitality IT20 taking place in the same week,” Alex Perkins, Warwickshire’s sales and marketing director, said.”We’re delighted that we’ve been able to make this work and give our members and fans the opportunity to support the Bears in a big quarter-final at home. We hope members, fans and the local community will come out in force to make it a memorable occasion and we have reflected this ambition with a one-off pricing model in order to create another special Edgbaston atmosphere.”Related

• Moeen Ali signs for Warwickshire on three-year deal

• Aussies in the Blast: Who stood out during the group stage?

• Hartley applies the long handle as Lancs leap into home quarter

• Smeed loves living in the 90s as Somerset defeat Surrey

• Hampshire warm up for quarters with ninth win in ten

Surrey have also cut prices for their quarter-final against Yorkshire at the Kia Oval on Wednesday, with adult tickets £15 in advance and under-16s free, while Lancashire’s start at £12 for adults and £1 for juniors. Somerset’s home ground, Taunton, is the smallest quarter-final venue by a distance and tickets are on sale at the usual price.The Bears’ defeat to Lancashire on Sunday night did not affect their status as North Group winners but did spare Derbyshire’s blushes by pushing them down into third, meaning they will play Somerset in Sunday’s fourth quarter-final.Derbyshire have only qualified for a home quarter-final once in the competition’s previous 19 seasons and did not foresee that they would this year, having rescheduled a Michael Bublé concert at the County Ground to July 9. If Lancashire had lost on Sunday, Derbyshire would have been unable to use their home ground and were expected to cede home advantage altogether, leading Dominic Cork, their former captain and coach, to fume on Sky: “If Derbyshire miss out on a home quarter-final because of a concert, it’s nonsense, absolute nonsense.”Surrey, Yorkshire and Lancashire are all bracing to be without several first-choice players due to England’s T20I series. The ECB said that there may be some scope for players to be released from the squad at short notice but that the situation is “quite fluid” and decisions will be made on a “case-by-case” basis.”It’s always difficult but we’ve had that in the past and we know what’s coming,” Dane Vilas, Lancashire’s captain, said. “It’s good for the guys that they get recognition for playing well and I’ve always said, if you play well in a good team, you’re going to get selected which is fantastic and that’s what we want. It’s going to be a bit of a headache for us but we’ve got the guys who want to come in and play.”The Blast’s semi-final draw is predetermined by group standings and has thrown up the possibility of a first-ever Finals Day Roses match, with the winner of Surrey vs Yorkshire drawn to play the winner of Lancashire vs Essex. In the other semi-final, the winner of Bears vs Hampshire will play the winner of Somerset vs Derbyshire.Quarter-final fixtures:
July 6 (6.30pm) – Surrey vs Yorkshire, The Kia Oval
July 7 (6.30pm) – Bears vs Hampshire, Edgbaston
July 8 (6.30pm) – Lancashire vs Essex, Emirates Old Trafford
July 9 (7pm) – Somerset vs Derbyshire, TauntonSemi-final draw:
Winner of Surrey-Yorkshire vs winner of Lancashire-Essex
Winner of Bears-Hampshire vs winner of Somerset-Derbyshire

The 22-year old right-arm fast bowler has taken 17 wickets in 18 T20Is

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2022Mohammad Hasnain has been called up to replace the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi in Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.Related

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Having burst on the scene as a teenager known for his ability to bowl at high pace, Hasnain has made steady progress, playing 18 T20Is for his country and picking up 17 wickets in them. He has also earned acclaim overseas with stints in the Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, English county cricket and the Hundred, where he is currently playing for the Oval Invincibles. The 22-year old already has a hat-trick in T20Is.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Hasnain has had some struggles as well. In February, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket after it was found that his action was suspect. Hasnain has since been able to correct it and was fully cleared to bowl again but, earlier this month, Marcus Stoinis appeared to question the fast bowler’s release.Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign on August 28 against India. They had been hopeful of Shaheen being able to recover from his knee injury by then – he sustained it in July and had since been kept under wraps by the team management. He still stayed with the squad and even went on tours – he was part of the ODI squad in the victory over Netherlands – but did not play any of the three games. Eventually it became clear that Shaheen needed four-six weeks rest and as a result he was ruled out of both the Asia Cup and the seven-match T20I series against England next month. He faces a race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup in October as well.

“There is less pressure when you have guys like Pollard, Narine, Pooran and Russell in the dressing room,” head coach says

Deivarayan Muthu09-Sep-20222:07

Abhishek Nayar: Akeal Hosein will serve WI in all formats for a long time

Abhishek Nayar isn’t feeling additional pressure in his first stint in the CPL, as Trinbago Knight Riders’ head coach, and likens the experience to overseeing a “state or a country side”, thanks to the presence of a number of senior players. Nayar, the former India allrounder, is also part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ support staff as assistant coach and is often credited for unlocking Dinesh Karthik’s potential as a finisher in T20s. CPL 2022, however, is his first high-profile head-coach job on the T20 franchise circuit.”I can assure you that I’ve enjoyed it [the head-coach role] a lot,” Nayar said during a virtual media interaction. “There is less pressure when you have guys like Polly [Kieron Pollard], Sunny [Sunil Narine], [Nicholas] Pooran and [Andre] Russell in the dressing room. There is less pressure because they handle most of it. You know when you have a bunch of experienced cricketers and people who have played at the highest level for a long time and have been great performers, I think it’s just about making sure you give them what they need to perform.”When you’re part of a franchise, you just want to make sure that the players get what they want to perform and that’s a mindset as a coach and it continues to be so [for me]. So, in terms of pressure, not [much] really, but there’s a lot of excitement and for me personally, it has been absolutely enjoyable because it’s a great bunch of boys and I almost feel like I’m working not with a great franchise but a state or a country side that plays together all the time. You don’t have to worry about getting the guys together or team bonding. Everyone has bonded and the mood in the dressing room is absolutely electric, funny and [we have] a lot of laughs all the time.”In their most recent game – a rain-hit one in St Lucia – Knight Riders lost seven wickets in seven overs during their pursuit of 195 and eventually lost the game by 80 runs via DLS method to the table-topping Barbados Royals. Nayar brushed that aside as an off day and said that he would take such a defeat now rather than during the knockouts.”I look at it as one bad day that came at the right time,” Nayar said. “I feel you rather have a game like that early in the tournament and I believe that when you have a bunch of professionals who are legends in their own right, sometimes a wake-up call early in the tournament is better than later on. We always believe in a tournament that is so long in a period of a month, you want to peak at the right time and I feel that the way things are going we will end [well].”There is less pressure when there are senior players like Andre Russell in the dressing room, Nayar says•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Earlier this week, Knight Riders women had clinched the inaugural women’s CPL title after beating Royals in a low-scorer. Nayar said the men’s side hasn’t had a discussion on doing the double this season, but believed that Pollard and co. have the experience and pedigree to do the job.”I think we are a very process-driven franchise and yes the eventual goal is to always win the championship,” Nayar said. We’ve always been a team that has played for gold. The mindset is to win, but like I said it’s a process and it’s a long process and you just to focus game-by-game and day-by-day and see what we need to do to get the guys in great space and eventually win the title. We haven’t spoken about it, but it’s something that everyone is determined to do for sure.”Nayar also said Akeal Hosein, the fingerspin-bowling allrounder, is on the road to recovery after he had injured his groin while diving in the infield during Knight Riders’ opening fixture, against St Lucia Kings. Hosein has since missed Knight Riders’ next two games, but Nayar hinted that he could return to action soon.”Akeal Hosein is recovering well. He had a very minor strain on his groin. Hopefully he will be fit soon. We’re trying to get him some time at the nets before he is match-fit after his injury. He is looking good and he’s in great shape and should be back on the field.”Not sure yet [about his availability for Knight Riders’ next match]. Because of the rain we haven’t been able to practice yet and he hasn’t tested himself yet on the field post his injury, so hopefully we can get a good session in and we can assess from that.”Abhishek Nayar is also part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ support staff in the IPL•BCCI

Nayar was particularly enthused about Hosein’s rise as West Indies’ premier spinner – with or without Narine – and predicted that he would be a long-serving all-format player. Hosein had first attracted Nayar’s attention when had travelled to the Caribbean in 2019 along with Karthik, who was the captain of KKR at the time, to scout for talent. Nayar then worked with Hosein at Kolkata Knight Riders, where the latter got a gig as a net bowler.”I think it [Hosein’s growth] has been terrific,” Nayar said. “I remember coming here in 2019, prior to Covid when Baz [Brendon McCullum] took over. “I remember Khary [Pierre] being our lead left-arm spinner then and Akeal got a game or two towards the end and the following year is when his resurrection started. I feel he’s grown leaps and bounds not only as a bowler but also as a batsman. I think he’s become a very capable allrounder now for West Indies.”I think a lot of credit needs to go to the way he has carried himself and his will to become a better cricketer. I think the one thing that stands out about Akeal is his determination and his willingness to learn. That shows in how he’s grown as a cricketer through and through and I have no doubt that in the future he will be someone who is going to serve West Indies for a really long time in all formats.”Nayar also said that USA quick Ali Khan has been sidelined from the entire CPL with injury and that Sri Lanka mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana is still awaiting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to link up with Knight Riders after the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE.”In terms of Ali Khan, he has been unfortunately ruled out and had a minor surgery,” Nayar said. “He [Theekshana] still hasn’t received his NOC, so we’re kind of hoping for the board to eventually give his NOC and then we will have further updates on that.”

UAE play Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia in the first round, aiming to qualify for the tournament proper

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2022UAE have dropped former captain Rohan Mustafa – their most-capped player across formats – from the T20 World Cup squad. The team will be led by CP Rizwan, who was named UAE’s T20I captain only last month. Ironically, Mustafa had hit the winning runs for UAE against Ireland in the final of the qualifying tournament for the World Cup.Mustafa’s axing means he cannot achieve his target of becoming the first from his country to play three World Cups, having earlier represented UAE at the T20 World Cup in 2014 and the ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year. His last appearance for UAE came only a few weeks back, while playing Kuwait in the T20 Asia Cup Qualifier.UAE squad for T20 World Cup 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It was the dream for me, as it would have meant me becoming the first UAE player to play at three World Cups,” Mustafa was quoted as saying by The National News.”It will be a sad moment for me, and I feel like they are going to miss me a bit. I felt like I had been doing well in T20Is, and was No 8 [in ICC’s allrounder rankings in T20Is] before I stopped looking at these things. I will miss them – and do believe they will miss me too – but I will definitely sit down and watch their matches and pray for them to win.”Vriitya Aravind will be Rizwaan’s deputy for the World Cup, where UAE will compete in the First Round, the precursor to the tournament proper. Aravind was the leading run-scorer in the qualifiers held in February this year, with 267 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 154.Related

• CP Rizwan replaces Ahmed Raza as UAE T20I captain

• Raza books UAE's berth at T20 World Cup; Ireland end Oman's hopes

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“This team has a solid representation of experience and youth,” Robin Singh, Director of Cricket and National Teams’ Head Coach, said. “To represent your country is of great pride, and our [coaching] team has complete belief in the maturity and skills of this group of players, and we expect them to surprise a few teams with their performances.”UAE have been placed alongside Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia in Group A of the First Round, from where the top two teams – alongside the best two from Group B – will make the main round. They play their first match against Netherlands in Geelong on October 16, the opening day of the event.UAE will also play Bangladesh in two T20Is on September 25 and 27 in the build-up to the World Cup.UAE squad: CP Rizwan (capt), Vriitya Aravind (vice-capt), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu and Aayan Khan

Keshav Maharaj has entered the top ten among bowlers after his twin two-fors in India

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-20221:42

How do you bowl to Suryakumar Yadav?

Suryakumar Yadav’s stunning rise in the men’s T20 batters’ rankings continued through the home series against South Africa, where he hit 50* and 61 in the first two games before finishing the series with an innings of 8. While that hasn’t led to a change in positions at the top of the pile, he has moved to within 16 rating points of Mohammad Rizwan, who has held on to the No. 1 spot but only just, after being rested for the sixth T20I at home against England and then scoring 1 in the final game.Babar Azam remained in third place after the latest update, but is now 37 ratings points behind Suryakumar, who is on 838 compared to Rizwan’s 854.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

At the end of the India vs South Africa and Pakistan vs England T20I series, there were some other big movers too. KL Rahul jumped seven spots to 14th after scoring 108 runs from two matches, while Quinton de Kock (up eight spots to 12th), Rilee Rossouw (up 23 places to 20th) and David Miller (up ten spots to 29th) gained too.Dawid Malan rose one spot to fifth after scoring 26 and 78* in the past week, while Ben Duckett (up eight spots to joint 24th) impressed too.There have been some changes in the bowling list too. While Josh Hazlewood held on to the top spot, Tabraiz Shamsi and Adil Rashid have both slipped three spots each, meaning a rise for Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga and Adam Zampa.Meanwhile, Keshav Maharaj’s two-wicket hauls in the last two T20Is in India have given him a boost, taking him from No. 17 to No.10, R Ashwin has jumped 28 places to 20th overall after miserly – though wicketless – performances against South Africa, and Reece Topley has gone up nine spots to 14th following five wickets from four matches.

“I try to just embrace it, but it isn’t something that sits that comfortably with me to be honest”

Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2022A hugely significant career in Australian cricket came to end at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.When Rachael Haynes lofted a catch to mid-off, she walked off to a standing ovation. At the end of the game both teams, and players from Sydney Sixers who had remained from their earlier match, formed a guard of honour as she carried her son, Hugo.Related

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Watched by her family, her team-mates had allowed her to run on first when their fielding stint began and Adelaide Strikers applauded her as she came into bat with Foo Fighters’ playing around the ground.”I try to just embrace it, but it isn’t something that sits that comfortably with me to be honest,” Haynes said of her farewell. “I’ve probably spent most of my career trying to avoid the limelight. But really appreciate all the effort and really grateful for the players sending me off, it’s very kind of them.”Haynes had announced her retirement in September, ending an international career that had tallied six Tests, 77 ODIs and 84 T20Is and a domestic career that started 17 years ago. She was a key member of the great Australian team that has dominated the sport in recent years. However, one of the common themes since her retirement was announced has been the impact she has had on others.”I’ve always just tried to do the right thing by people, the right thing by the programmes I’ve been part of and tried to prepare the best I could and set a good example for others around me,” she said. “When you are doing all those things you are probably a bit oblivious to the impact it’s having, but there’s been quite a few people who have reached out this week and said, ‘good luck, well done’, and it’s definitely meant a lot to me.”Everyone wants to succeed and do well, but what binds groups together and brings them back together is the success you share on field. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to experience that both domestically and internationally.”Rachael Haynes walks back with her son, Hugo, as she receives a guard of honour•Getty Images

Haynes wanted to complete this campaign for Sydney Thunder having not been able to play last season, but the WBBL did not turn into the farewell tour she had hoped for. Thunder ended with just one win in 14 matches and Haynes could not hit her stride with the bat.”It’s an interesting one,” she said. “I clearly didn’t have the season I’ve had in the past. I suppose [upon] reflecting [that] you just lose a bit of that competitive edge and it’s something I’ve never had to be consciously aware of in the past, I’ve always just been up and 100% on it, and I reckon this year there were probably times when I wasn’t at that same edge that you need to have at this level.”Haynes leaves an outstanding legacy to the game, with her career covering multiple eras as the sport became fully professional in Australia. Her own time in international cricket was split into two parts. It looked as though she could be done when she spent four years out of the side before returning in 2017 and shortly after captained the Ashes series in place of the injured Meg Lanning.From the point of her recall she averaged 45.07 in ODIs and 33 in T20Is with a strike rate of 126.15. Her final international match was Australia’s gold-medal victory against India at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham having added 160 for the first wicket with Alyssa Healy in the ODI World Cup final earlier in the year. She has previously picked out her innings against Sri Lanka, at Perth, during the 2020 T20 World Cup as her best.”I had mixed emotions coming into the ground today,” she said. “It’s strange, I announced it six weeks ago now and towards the end of this week when it was starting to become a bit more real, I definitely noticed myself going through different waves of emotion and being a bit teary. By the same the token I know I’m ready to walk away. But walking away from something that’s been such a big part of my life for a long time is also challenging.”She has yet to decide what comes next. There will be some WBBL commentary during finals week and then she will take the rest of the year off. But if she so chooses, Haynes has plenty more to offer cricket.

BCCI has formed a panel of its own doctors who are in touch with the doctors at Dehradun’s Max Hospital

Sidharth Monga02-Jan-20230:48

Hardik Pandya: ‘Our love and prayers are all with Rishabh Pant’

Rishabh Pant is out of the ICU, but the extent of injuries on his knee, toe and ankle is not yet known as he is still not in shape to go through MRI scans.Pant was on his way from Delhi to see his mother in Roorkee in Uttarakhand when his car crashed into a road divider on December 30. He miraculously escaped without life-threatening injuries even as the car went up in flames.After immediate emergency care in Roorkee, Pant was moved to Max Hospital in Dehradun where he currently awaits discharge in a private ward. The BCCI has formed a panel of its own doctors who are in touch with the doctors at the Dehradun hospital. The line of treatment is being determined by both panels in unison.Related

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• Pant's brain and spine MRI scan results normal

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Preliminary scans were done on December 30 to eliminate brain and spine injuries, but the scans on the knee and foot were held back because of the pain and swelling. Also, plastic surgery was performed to treat lacerative and abrasion wounds and facial injuries. However, the pending MRI has not yet been performed.The BCCI is hopeful Pant gets discharged and is fit to travel in the coming two to three days so that its panel of doctors can start determining the extent of the two suspected ligament tears as early as possible. It is not yet known if the injuries will require a surgery or just rehab. It is too early to think of a timeframe in which he can come back to athletic activity first and then top-flight cricket. He hasn’t started walking yet.Rishabh Pant’s car was severely damaged after a crash•PTI

Hardik: Pant ‘would have made a big difference’ against Sri Lanka
“What happened is very unfortunate, no one has control over it. As a team we wish him all the best, our love and prayers are always with him,” Hardik Pandya, India’s captain for the T20I series against Sri Lanka which starts on Tuesday, told reporters. “Wish him a speedy recovery. Obviously, he was a very important part of the team, now everyone knows the situation and lot of other people can get opportunities.”Yes, Pant, if he was also there, he would have made a big difference because of the player he is, but now he is not there so we can’t control it. We will see what the future holds for us.”India’s three big assignments in 2023 are the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Tests against Australia) in India in February-March, a possible World Test Championship final in England in their summer, and the ODI World Cup in India’s early winter.Pant’s chances of making it to the first of these are slim although it can’t quite be ruled out. The other big event for Pant will be the IPL where he captains Delhi Capitals.

Behrendorff starred with three wickets to restrict Heat to 155

Tristan Lavalette11-Jan-2023Veteran quick Jason Behrendorff took three wickets then Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie blasted half-centuries as Perth Scorchers continued their stranglehold over lowly Brisbane Heat with an eight-wicket victory in Brisbane.After captain Ashton Turner elected to bowl on a batting-friendly Gabba surface, Behrendorff led a typically disciplined Scorchers attack to thwart the return of Australia Test players Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Renshaw.Inglis and Hardie then chased the sub-par total of 156 with ease in a brutal 132-run partnership as defending champions Scorchers claimed their second win over Heat in four days.

Behrendorff claims 100th BBL wicket

For the second straight game against Heat, Scorchers were thrashed early and Turner decided to use returning left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in the third over.It failed to do the trick with Agar, who usually bowls after the powerplay, as he conceded 13 runs.Scorchers would have been in worse trouble if not for Behrendorff, whose in-swinging deliveries targeting the leg stump were kryptonite for rampaging opener Josh Brown.The left-arm seamer bowled five dot deliveries in a row at one point before dismissing Brown, who unluckily played on in a tangle much like David Warner against Tim Southee at the recent T20 World Cup.Behrendorff then dismissed Labuschagne and Renshaw with help from superb catches from Stephen Eskinazi and Andrew Tye.He impressively mustered all his experience to limit Heat during the power surge as Behrendorff joined Tye as the only Scorchers bowlers to have claimed 100 BBL wickets.Jason Behrendorff celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Bryant overshadows returning Test players

Struggling Heat needed a tonic and the return of captain Khawaja, Labuschagne and Renshaw fitted the bill. But switching formats just three days after the third Test against South Africa proved difficult amid an underwhelming Heat display in favourable conditions.Khawaja opened in his debut for Heat after crossing from Sydney Thunder on a multi-year deal. He struggled early and was hit in the helmet after attempting a scoop shot. He also survived a confident shout for caught behind off Behrendorff that wasn’t reviewed. Khawaja then built a platform but couldn’t convert and so too Renshaw.Labuschagne, who sports an underwhelming BBL record, entered at No.3 and started sedately before holing out to deep cover.It was left to big-hitting Max Bryant, who smashed three sixes to lift Heat to respectability, but it proved well short. Once part of a devastating opening partnership with Chris Lynn, Bryant has struggled this season but might have found a niche batting at No.6.

Inglis has point to prove

Scorchers were in trouble at 25 for 2 after the powerplay, but the pressure was released when Khawaja gambled by using part-time spinner Labuschagne in the fifth over.Inglis smashed a six off his first ball then struck consecutive boundaries in a momentum-changing over. He was in sweet touch and showcased his deft use of the feet by counterattacking spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, including one gorgeous six over cover.Wicketkeeper-batter Inglis notched his third half-century of the BBL season and this would have been particularly satisfying, having earlier in the day missed out on Australia’s upcoming Test tour of India.He combined superbly with Hardie, who started with an elegant drive to the boundary en route to his second straight half-century against Heat. Scorchers passed the target with 22 balls to spare, with Hardie sealing the deal with a six.

Johnson menaces on BBL debut

Heat had a new-look attack without fringe Test bowlers Mark Steketee and Mitchell Swepson. It didn’t change their fortunes, but towering quick Spencer Johnson grabbed his opportunity in an eye-catching BBL debut.The left-arm quick bowled particularly sharply, with one delivery clocked at 147kmph, as his great height extracted considerable lift from a benign surface.The 27-year-old had played in the 50-over Marsh Cup previously for South Australia and was on Adelaide Strikers’ list last season. For many, however, it was the first time they had watched Johnson in action and he showed enough to warrant a sustained run with Heat.